Winter Time Farm Boy Memories

Several months ago I reflected on how my Dad prepared for Christmas. Today I will share a memory of how my Dad prepared for the upcoming planting season each Winter. Even as young Farm Boys, both my Brother and I knew that you did not plant corn until late April and early May each year. Yet every February our Dad would take us out to the machine shed on a Saturday and have us help him rehab the corn planter. You know that February in Iowa can be quite cold. This Machine Shed had no heater and lacked all creature comforts. Yet we took the Corn Planter apart and checked for weak parts and cleaned the surfaces that needed to be shiny for the upcoming planting season. We would always do as we were told, but you can be confident that we also asked why do this when it is so cold. We could do it when the weather warmed up. This line of thinking sure made a lot of sense to two young Farm Boys back in the late 40s and the early 50s.

Yet, every February we participated in the same evolution with our Dad always reminding us that you can not plant corn if the equipment breaks down. His mantra was to always be ready and he was.

As a mature adult I can now appreciate this thought process. As a Young Farmer, our Dad with four children to raise was always preparing for the future. In later years we four would be joined by two others so there were six children in the family.

I suspect that all of us learned this important aspect of living from our Dad. Be ready when the season is correct by preparing for it in advance. After all you can not plant corn with a broken down planter!!!

Certainly a great life lesson that we all learned early in our lives.

Mississippi River Along Northern Iowa

This is a view of the Mississippi River from the Overlook alongside U. S. Highway 52 as it proceeds North of the City of Guttenberg, Iowa in Clayton County. You can view the island and if you look closely you can see the Ice Fishing Activity on this side of the island.

U. S. Highway 52 is also know as "The Great River Road" which runs along the Mississippi River. This is a view of the frozen Mississippi River South of Lock and Dam Number Ten in Guttenberg, Iowa. These photographs are provided by my relatives who reside in Northeast Iowa.

You may be wondering why these photographs are included in an "Iowa Tractor Boys" Blog! The fact of the matter is that this is what Iowa Tractor Boys observe every Winter. If they reside in Western Iowa the see the Missouri. In fact I believe that Iowa is the only State in the United States that has Rivers on both the West and the East Coast.

Snow and More Snow!!

Kale Avenue in Clayton County, Iowa. You are looking North in this view. You can see the drift of snow on the right side of this image.

Snow Time In Northeast Iowa

The Formation of an Iowa Tractor Boy

If you look close at this picture you can see that an Iowa Farmer is assisting in the formation of another generation of Iowa Tractor Boys.

Of course it helps to be an Iowa Farmer and to also be employed by John Deere Tractor Works. The Winter of 2009 - 2010 has been a challenge with an abundance of snow fall.

Note the snow blade on the rear of this John Deere. The tines on the front are used to move the round hay bales so that the cattle can enjoy food during the Winter season.

A John Deere Birthday Party

Even though this young boy is not an Iowa Tractor Boy he did celebrate his first birthday in a fashionable manner. You can ascertain from the party table that the theme was "John Deere."

Additionally, the Birthday Boy was clothed in appropriate "John Deere" garb.

Iowa Tractor Boys

Iowa and the U. S. Navy

I know that not all Iowa Tractor Boys reside in Iowa once they reach adulthood. To start the year of 2010 I decided to post an entry that features Iowa Tractor Boys who are involved in the U. S. Navy. Each of these images was obtained from a U. S. Navy Website and have been released.

Not all of Iowa's citizens who serve are Boys. The U. S. Military has Girls who also serve to protect us. Enjoy this series of pictures which show actual Iowa citizens serving our Country or Iowa citizens in Iowa honoring our U. S. Navy.

Welcome to 2010.

Christmas Memories

As I prepared for Christmas 2009 I could not help but to reflect on Christmas Traditions from my Youth. I recall that in the late 1940s and early 1950s when my Brother and I helped our Dad on Christmas Eve. We lived on a small Farm in Northeast Iowa in Jefferson Township, Clayton County which has as it's Eastern Border the Mississippi River.

Our Family always attended Chruch on Christmas Eve. The Farm Chores were complete. The Animals had been fed and the cows milked. All was well with the Farm. However all the barns, stalls and sheds for the livestock had to be cleaned out and new straw in place so that at Midnight the Farm Animals could bend a knee to show their respect and adoration to the Christ Child. This was a Tradition for my Dad and I suspect that His Dad had established this as a Family Tradition when he was a Young Farm Boy.

I can not verify that information now because my own Dad died on Christmas Eve 1999. He had lived a long complete life and had just celebrated his 86th Birthday.

As I grow older I often look back and realize that my Dad, and also the Dad to my five Siblings was able to instill a sense of pride in all of us. Yes, He expected us to work and to perform to our best ability and Yes, we can all reflect back now and acknowledge that He gave us the guidance and tools to live a successful life.

Was it easy to be a Farmer's Kid? Of course not, but then I consider myself well Blessed because I was a Farmer's Kid. I can state that none of use grew up self centered. There were six of us and we quickly realized that not one of us was the focus of our Parent's Affection.

In fact, a story I am quick to relate is we all enjoyed the same bicycle. We could take turns riding it.

Please enjoy a Blessed Christmas 2009!!